Anti Nostalgia
by Hitora Gin
Summary: *new chapter up! r&r pls* A senior at Shohoku, the Vice-Captain of the Basketball Team, and still single, Hanamichi is longing for his loneliness to disappear. When a girl appears and seem to know so much about him, Sakuragi feels as though he's saved...
1. Prologue

**Anti-Nostalgia**   
  
**Disclaimer**: Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko and its rightful companies. All other characters not related to Slam Dunk were created for the sole purpose of supporting this fanfiction. All rights reserved.   
  
**Prologue**   
  
I wonder… why is it when I look at the rain and listen to its soft pattering on the ground, I can feel a certain emptiness in my heart and sometimes, even a heart wrenching pain? Is my life incomplete or is it something else? That emptiness… that longing… to hold someone I love in my arms and protect them from the malice of the world, or is it? Maybe I've been reading too many manga; of dashing heroes protecting their loved ones. I feel as though I can relate… but can I?   
  
The twinkling stars against the darkness of the night sky. Are they there for a purpose? I look at them and I can feel my heart soar with contentment, but also, grief. Again, I know not why I feel this way. I can't comprehend these feelings that suddenly overwhelm me at this age. I don't remember anything that has happened to me which made me more cheerful than usual or really depressed. I don't feel like myself anymore. I don't… or is this just the way that I am?   
  
When I attempt to think deeper into this situation, a sharp pain would course through my brain and it will spread through my whole body. Yes, I will have a seizure. A seizure at the age of eighteen? People might consider a robust teenager like myself having a seizure is but a mere joke, but believe me, I'm not joking. Besides, no one knows. No one but me. Why would I tell anyone about my vulnerability? I have my pride to consider… even if I have to go through so much pain to overcome this, I will never abandon my pride. Never.   
  
The pain… it's… coming again… argh… it hurts so much…   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
**A/N:** Er… short ne? Gomen ^^6 


	2. Chapter 1: Changes

**Anti-Nostalgia**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko and its rightful companies. All other characters not related to Slam Dunk were created for the sole purpose of supporting this fanfiction. All rights reserved.   
  
**Chapter 1:** Changes   
  
"Yo-chan, do you hear that?"   
"Hm… must be Hanamichi…" Yohei murmured lazily, nuzzling his face in Haruko's soft silky brown hair.   
"Let's check up on him… besides, training's about to start," Haruko urged softly, lightly fingering her bruised lips at the same time. As she did so, a faint blush appeared   
on her cheeks.   
  
Mito Yohei chuckled at his girlfriend's inexperience and took her hand in his, entwining his fingers with hers. Akagi Haruko blushed a deeper shade of pink but smiled shyly at Yohei, causing his heart to melt. He never thought that she would ever fall for a guy like him who did not fall under her 'I love athletes!' category. He never thought that he would fall for her either… sure, she was pretty but his best friend was in head-over-heels with her. But since Sakuragi Hanamichi gave up his infatuation over Haruko, Yohei was able to step in. Maybe Yohei was just backing off so that Sakuragi could try and have her without much competition. Even until now, a year later since that infatuation ended, Yohei did not understand his previous actions either. Dropping a soft kiss on Haruko's forehead, Yohei gently pulled Haruko from behind some bushes and they entered the gym.   
Inside, Sakuragi was practicing his three-point shots which he learnt at the beginning of his second year at Shohoku High School. All thanks to the former Junior High MVP, Mitsui Hisashi, who visited the current team frequently and helped out with their training sessions. Just by a glance, Yohei and Haruko knew that Sakuragi was frustrated as his sharp eyebrows were set in a frown. His lips also parted every so often to allow profanity to escape from them every time he missed a shot. And he missed many.   
  
"Sakuragi-kun!"   
"Oi! Hanamichi!"   
  
Sakuragi turned to see his best friend and the former love of his life standing by the gym entrance which led to the outside school compound. Both of them had their hands entwined and goofy expressions on they faces. Sakuragi raised an eyebrow at their disheveled states as he walked over to them, and at the same time, wiping the beads of perspiration from his face with his right forearm.   
  
"What have you two been doing?" he asked with suspicion.   
  
Haruko immediately turned crimson and started mumbling incoherently under her breath whereas Yohei grinned a little and tried to smooth down his previously neat gelled jet black hair.   
  
"Betsu ni," Yohei said, his eyes sparkling.   
"Yeah, right," Sakuragi said, rolling his eyes. "Well, it's not like I care anyways…" he continued to mutter, running a hand through his partially spiky and wet, red hair, causing droplets of perspiration to fall to the gym floor.   
"Sakuragi-kun, you're training hard," Haruko said, quick to change the subject.   
"Well, he should. After all, he's the vice-captain!"   
  
Sakuragi smirked a little at this remark. Being a vice-captain was great but he was hoping so much to be the captain.   
  
"Hm… since everyone is about to be here soon, I guess I'd better go change," Haruko said, giving Yohei a peck on his cheek before walking to the changing room.   
  
Sakuragi watched Yohei as his eyes followed Haruko's every movement; his eyes reflecting his love and longing. Sakuragi grinned a little before focusing his attention elsewhere. It was approximately a year ago that his infatuation with Haruko ended. After Haruko confessed her feelings to Rukawa, and was rejected, Sakuragi and Haruko decided to give their relationship a shot, to see if they could be more than just friends. After all, they did care very deeply for each other. After a few dates, they realized that the relationship that they shared was nothing more than friendship so they left it as that, with no hard feelings against each other.   
Sakuragi was exceptionally glad over this as he was able to find out that his obsession with Haruko was nothing more than a crush in his first year of high school, and that he was now free to act like himself in front of her. After all, what was there to be embarrassed about?   
Even so, when Haruko fell for Yohei, and vice versa, Sakuragi's heart could not help but ache. He did know what that feeling was but it made him uneasy. He even thought of it as jealousy and felt a little guilty for thinking that way.   
  
"Hanamichi!"   
"Hrm?" Sakuragi grunted distractedly, casting a look at his friend.   
"The captain is here…" Yohei pointed out.   
  
There, by the other entrance of the gym, stood the captain of the Shohoku Basketball Club – Rukawa Kaede.   
Rukawa stood tall as he stepped into the gym. Having grown three centimeters since his freshman year at Shohoku High, he was one of the taller students around, though he was still one and a half centimeters shorter than Sakuragi. His raven black hair was slightly longish at the nape of his neck and his bangs covered more of his sapphire eyes. The bright gym lights seemed to make Rukawa's features more distinct and made him look authoritative. Sakuragi's brown eyes which was flecked with gold, flashed upon spotting Rukawa. He tightened his grip on the basketball in his hands and he strode over to Rukawa with his gigantic strides.   
  
"Hanamichi?"   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
**A/N:** A chapter to clarify the changes in some of the characters. 


	3. Chapter 2: Some Things Change

**Anti-Nostalgia**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko and its rightful companies. All other characters not related to Slam Dunk were created for the sole purpose of supporting this fanfiction. All rights reserved.   
  
**Chapter 2:** Some Things Change. Others Don't.   
  
"Hanamichi?" Yohei called out, watching as his strode over to the Captain of the Shohoku Basketball Team.   
  
Sakuragi studied the ashen-skinned face of the messy-haired teen standing opposite him who remained expressionless, even when Sakuragi leaned forward to look into his sapphire eyes which were staring back at Sakuragi from beneath the raven black bangs.   
  
"What are you doing?" Rukawa asked in a flat, neutral tone.   
  
The sudden speech surprised Sakuragi that his head snapped up, causing a crick in his neck. His shock was as though Rukawa was a mannequin which was suddenly bestowed life.   
  
With a determined grin and pointing a finger at Rukawa, he announced, "I, Tensai Sakuragi Hanamichi, Vice-Captain of the Shohoku Basketball Team, challenge you to one-on-one match."   
Rukawa breathed out a tiny mushroom-shaped puff of air and muttered, "Yare yare."   
  
Sakuragi passed the basketball he was holding to Rukawa and when the latter caught it, and without a moment's hesitation, began to dribble it, Sakuragi knew that Rukawa had accepted his challenge.   
  
"Yosha! Zettai makenai!" he roared.   
  
Haruko entered the gym in a pair of running shorts, an oversized pink T-shirt, her New-Balance sport shoes and a red baseball cap perched on her head.   
Upon spotting his girlfriend, Yohei moved to stand next to her.   
  
"Oi! Oi! No funny business!" Sakuragi warned the two when he saw Yohei walk towards Haruko.   
"Sakuragi-kun!" Haruko squeaked, turning crimson.   
"Hai hai," Yohei said, looking kind of sheepish.   
  
Rukawa merely shook his head. Then, with a look at Sakuragi, he said, "Ikuzo!"   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Fifteen minutes into the game and both sides had a score of twelve points a piece. By then, all the members of the basketball club had already assembled. Rukawa and Sakuragi were so focused on the game that they did not realize that the basketball club members were waiting for them to end their little encounter. Both were also oblivious to the cheers of the Rukawa Shinetai and the Sakuragi Gundan respectively. They also were unaware of the large crowd which had gathered in anticipation to see the results of the match or the arrival of their coach, Anzai-sensei.   
  
"Haruko-kun, how long have they been playing?" Anzai-sensei asked the new manager. Haruko was the assistant manager when the former manager, Ayako, was around.   
"Erm…" Haruko started, checking her stopwatch. "A little over fifteen minutes now."   
  
There was suddenly a loud cheer and Haruko looked up from her scorebook in time to see Sakuragi shoot a jump shot and see it sail smoothly into the ring.   
  
"HANAMICHI!" the Gundan cheered.   
Ohkusu shouted, "Hanamichi is two points up! One more to the win!"   
"IKE! HANAMICHI!" Takamiya urged the tall red-head.   
  
Rukawa had the ball and he dribbled it high above his knees, and just beyond the three-point line. Sakuragi stood low, his knees bent and his arms spread out. He moved them above him and to his sides, trying to hinder Rukawa's every possible move.   
When Sakuragi saw the ball suspended between Rukawa's hand and the gym's polished wooden floor, his quick muscle movement enabled his left hand to stretch forward and tap the ball away but Rukawa quickly recovered by reaching out for the loose ball and dashing to the shooting area, dribbling the ball at an alarming speed.   
Sakuragi anticipated that Rukawa would enter the shooting area and attempt either a jump shot, lay-up or dunk; so he sprinted ahead but Rukawa stopped just at the three-point line and with a graceful jump and a beautiful form, he shot.   
When he saw Rukawa stop, Sakuragi tried to change his direction but due to his immense speed and the slippery floor, he slipped instead. With a groan, he watched as Rukawa's shot got the ball smoothly into the ring.   
The score was fifteen to fourteen – to Rukawa.   
  
Sakuragi really felt like a dunce. He didn't think that Rukawa would try a three-pointer even when Rukawa was three points away from winning. Why?   
Suddenly, a hand appeared before his face. Sakuragi looked up to see Rukawa offering him a hand up.   
  
"Almost beat me there, Hanamichi," Rukawa said.   
  
Sakuragi grinned and grabbed Rukawa's hand.   
  
"Of course! Due to my special trainings… and also because I'm a Tensai! Nyahaha!" He looked at Rukawa with intensity burning in his coffee-brown eyes, and added, "I won't lose next time, Kaede."   
"But that's what you said the last time," Rukawa reminded him.   
  
Sakuragi scratched the back of his head sheepishly and decided to ignore that remark.   
  
"TRAINING!" Sakuragi shouted and everyone clustered around the both of them.   
"Ten laps for everyone, but twenty for the first years," Rukawa said. "You didn't clean the floors and the proof of it is that your Vice-Captain slipped."   
  
The first years frowned but they immediately wore fearful smiles instead when they saw Rukawa's icy glare directed at them. Rolling his eyes at them, Rukawa then turned to Sakuragi and he nodded. Calling the basketball club members to form a circle, Sakuragi went into the usual before-practice procedure.   
  
"SHOHOKU… FIGHT!"   
"UH!"   
"FIGHT!"   
"UH!"   
  
When they were doing their ten laps of jog-sprints, Sakuragi could be seen at the front; running as though his life depended on it. Rukawa and the rest were not far behind though, but Rukawa did wear his usual poker-face mask on his face.   
Guess some things change and some things never will.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
**A/N:** Haha, bet you didn't see that one coming. It is their third-year after all and I wanted to give them a somewhat friendship. I'm not going to tell you if this is going to turn shounen-ai or not, etc. ^___^ I enjoy writing fics like this *grins* Yep, please review! I'm typing the next chapter now… 


	4. Chapter 3: Bells

**Anti-Nostalgia**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko and its rightful companies. All other characters not related to Slam Dunk were created for the sole purpose of supporting this fanfiction. All rights reserved.   
  
**Chapter 3:** Bells…   
  
"Rukawa-kun. Sakuragi-kun."   
  
They were in the midst of their footwork drill when Anzai-sensei called for them. With sweat collected on their brows, they jogged over to their coach, their beads of perspiration reflecting the bright gym lights, sparkling like diamonds.   
  
"Hai, sensei?" Rukawa asked.   
"Oyaji, this had better be good. We're training," Sakuragi told Anzai-sensei and proceeded to wobble the fat under the old man's chin, with an amused grin on his face.   
"Yamete, do ahou."   
"Come on Kaede! It's fun!"   
  
Grabbing Rukawa's arm by the wrist, Sakuragi positioned it under Anzai-sensei's chin and demonstrated the proper technique of wobbling the fat.   
  
"Hora!" Sakuragi laughed, especially when he saw the look of interest on Rukawa's face.   
"Stop it, both of you!" Haruko exclaimed and whacked the two on their heads with the fan passed down to her by Ayako.   
  
"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi began to snivel.   
"Ayako-san told me to do that if any of you misbehaved," she apologized.   
  
Anzai-sensei merely laughed his Santa Claus laugh.   
  
"Taoka-sensei proposed a practice match. Are you interested?"   
"Ryonan ka?" Rukawa murmured, in thought.   
"IYA!! Sendoh and Fukusuke are not there anymore so there's no challenge from them! Also, with Hikoichi as the captain, what chances do they have? NYAHAHAHA!" Sakuragi laughed.   
"Hanamichi, you do ahou. It'd be a good opportunity for the team and this can be part of the preparation for the Kanagawa games," Rukawa told his friend.   
"But Kaede!! We shouldn't waste time! We need all the practice we can get!" Sakuragi protested.   
"I say we go, since I'm the Captain," Rukawa proclaimed, expressing his authority over the team.   
"That's so unfair," the Vice-Captain whined.   
"Hohoho, I'll let Ryonan know then," their coach said and got up from his seat.   
  
However, the bickering still has yet to end.   
  
"You're taking advantage of your position!" Sakuragi grumbled.   
"That's because I should," came the reply, as Rukawa headed back to the team.   
"TEME KAEDE! OMAE…"   
  
The familiar ringing of tiny bells and a little girl's voice calling out to him distracted Sakuragi from ending his statement.   
  
_'No… not now. I have to practice…'_ he thought, willing himself to move, but finding that he couldn't.   
  
The tinkling of bells invaded his mind and crawled through every crevice of his brain. This made him perspire profusely. Pain coursed through his every vein and he began to see spots. Eventually, his vision began to blur.   
Rukawa found it odd that Sakuragi would stop in the middle of his taunting, so he turned to irritate the redhead further. To his horror, he found Sakuragi on the linoleum floor – shaking like a leaf. His amber-flecked coffee eyes had also rolled to the back of his head revealing an empty whiteness. Sakuragi's mouth opened and closed as though he was silently calling out to someone.   
  
"HANAMICHI!" Rukawa shouted, surprising everyone in the gym.   
  
Their attention was suddenly focused on Shohoku's Basketball Team Captain as he ran to his friend's aid. Everyone usually ignored the constant bickering between the captains and focused on their training, but it was the first time that they heard Rukawa shout. Although Rukawa was the Captain, Sakuragi did all the shouting.   
  
"HARUKO! CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE!" Rukawa instructed the manager. "NOW!" he added, when he saw that she was too terrified to move.   
  
Yohei and the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan ran onto the court to assist Rukawa.   
  
"Hanamichi! Be steady!" Yohei shouted to his friend.   
  
In fact, all of his friends were shouting to him. But all that Sakuragi could hear were the tinkling of bells… and it hurt.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"From the looks of things, he's been having this epilepsy for quite a while now."   
"Epilepsy, desu ka?" Anzai-sensei asked.   
"Hai. Epilepsies usually indicate a sign of illness but we've ran every possible medical checkup on him but it seems that he's perfectly healthy."   
"Then about the signs that it has been a while since he's been having this?" Anzai-sensei continued to question the doctor.   
  
Only Anzai-sensei seemed to be paying attention. The others in the ward were in a daze. Then Haruko started to cry, and Yohei tried his best to console her.   
  
"He could be stressed. It does that sometimes. We don't know for sure if he's stressed though. What about his parents? Are they coming?" the doctor continued.   
"His father passed away a few years ago while his mother… well, we don't know where she is. She hasn't been back for a few months now," Yohei explained.   
  
Rukawa and Haruko's eyes widened in surprise. The Gundan merely looked depressed.   
  
"Yohei…"   
  
Sakuragi's eyelids were half-opened but everyone could see the pain he has been going through as it was visible in his eyes.   
  
In a husky yet soft voice, he continued. "Don't… don't tell them anything else. You guys too…" he pointed a shaking finger at the Gundan.   
"Hanamichi…" Noma said.   
With a tiny smile on his lips, he shut his eyes and whispered, "You promised."   
  
And Sakuragi was unconscious yet again, but this time, his eyebrows weren't furrowed as before.   
The doctor pushed everyone out of the ward to let Sakuragi rest. When all of them were alone, Rukawa cornered the Gundan.   
  
"Tell me what he was talking about," he growled, his sapphire eyes turning cold, and piercing.   
"We promised him!" Takamiya shouted, backing away.   
"Minna, stop it! This is a hospital!" Haruko whispered fiercely, when she saw doctors, nurses and patients shooting looks of annoyance and disapproval at them.   
  
Suddenly, the pattering of feet and the tinkling of bells could be heard. A girl with short and curled mousy-brown hair was running towards them, tears streaming down her cheeks.   
  
"Hana-chan! Where's my Hanamichi?!" she demanded.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
**A/N:** Sorry for the very late update. I had this written a long long time ago on writing paper but I couldn't find the time to type it up ^^6 *bows profusely* Sumimasen. About this chapter, yes, we find out that Sakuragi has epilepsy and so now you know whose thoughts are in the prologue. I don't really know how anyone can get epilepsy but I've created my own theory for this fanfiction and you'll find that out in later chapters. Hope this was okay enough ^^ And is this RuHana? Saa… read and find out *refuses to give hints in summary or anything else* 


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